Veteran journalist, Dr. Reuben Abati, has revealed that Monday night’s inaugural Presidential Media Chat with President Bola Tinubu was unscripted, with no pre-vetted questions from the presidency.
Abati, who was a co-host on The Morning Show on Arise TV on Tuesday, emphasized that the questions posed to the president were not approved in advance.
He spoke from his extensive experience, having participated in several presidential media chats over the years.
On Monday, President Tinubu was interviewed by a distinguished team of journalists, including Abati, at his private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Reflecting on the event, Abati shared his perspective as a veteran of such interviews, having been part of the first presidential media chat after Nigeria’s return to civilian rule under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He also noted his experience in managing and organizing similar sessions for past presidents, including President Goodluck Jonathan.
Abati expressed his satisfaction with the media chat, describing it as a positive step for President Tinubu to engage with the public directly.
He considered the opportunity to moderate the event a personal milestone. He further explained the unscripted nature of the chat, stating that no questions were submitted beforehand and that the president did not inquire about the topics to be covered.
The veteran journalist also praised the president’s demeanor, noting that Tinubu was in high spirits and fully prepared for the conversation. Abati advised the president’s media team to make the presidential media chat a regular occurrence, encouraging more direct communication between the president and the Nigerian people.
Abati said, “I speak as a veteran of presidential media chats. I was in the first presidential media chat that President Obasanjo had after the return to civilian rule. I have interviewed since then every Nigerian president. I managed President Goodluck Jonathan and I organised presidential media chats on a regular basis.
“So I speak as somebody who can claim to have very solid experience in the business and I want to say to start with that I think it was a good development that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to have that presidential media chat yesterday and I was privileged again to be the moderator of that chat, which is something at a personal level that I consider historic.
“Now let me tell you about the atmosphere of it. Nobody asked us to submit questions.
“President Bola Tinubu did not say what are you going to discuss?
“In fact, we did not see him until he walked into the set…Until he walked into the set, that was when we asked him questions.”
